Oprah's Church

Check out this disturbing and informative video:



Speaking to Oprah's comments about the jealously of God, Thabiti Anyabwile says this:

"One thing I'm thankful for from this video is that Oprah helps us preachers to think a bit more carefully about our audience. There are no doubt many in the pew who would find teaching about a jealous God repulsive, and yet they've not understood how God's jealousy for His own name is utterly unlike fallen human jealousy or how it is absolutely right that God infinte in every perfection be jealous for His name, that God's own zeal for His name is commendable in light of who God is. I'd love for Oprah to sit down with Piper and work though some of this! And I'd love to preach to my own people in a way that doesn't leave them at 20-something staggering away from the Lord because they're projecting themselves onto God.
Oh that the Lord would make me a preacher!"

Speaking to this comment by Oprah, "God... in the essence of all consciousness... isn't something to believe. God is. God is. And God is a feeling experience, not a believing experience. And, in fact, if your religion is a believing experience... if God for you is still about a belief, then it's not truly God," Thabiti says this:

"So much for her earlier comment in this video, where she defended the idea that there is not one true way to God but that all paths lead there. All paths except belief in a personal, sovereign God who reveals himself in the Word of God and calls all men everywhere to repent and believe.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
--Jesus Christ (John 3:16-21; emphasis in the original)"

HT: Pure Church

Gospel Counterfeits

In their book How People Change, Tim Lane and Paul David Tripp lay out seven counterfeit gospels.

1. Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

2. Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

3. Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

4. Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

5. Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

6. Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs."

7. “Social-ism.” “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

Jonathan Leeman writes: "How many of these do you recognize in your own heart? How can we help our congregations to recognize them in their hearts through preaching, discipling, and counseling?"

HT: The 9 Marks Blog